New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 155,638 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $5,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EXC opened at $44.20 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $44.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.13 and a 200 day moving average of $39.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Exelon

Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy distribution and transmission businesses in the United States and Canada. The company is involved in the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and natural gas, transmission and distribution of electricity, and distribution of natural gas to retail customers.